Sen. Edwards: Next President Will Be Conversationalist

Senator John Edwards is on stage at Gnomedex. He's not giving a speech. He says he's here to learn and engage in a conversation. And boy did he. Here's a sample of what what he said...

* "What bloggers doing is important for the country, the political process...it will change democracy. Instead of leaders speaking out at people, we will engage in dialogue."

* On spin vs. speaking in a human voice: "We're so conditioned over a long period of time that being normal, real and authentic requires shedding this condition...Most politicians stay in their safe zone. My own view the next President is likely to be the single candidate who does not sound like a candidate."

Spoken like a blogger. Kudos to the Senator.

Comments

[Dimitar Vesselinov]

Is John Edwards the next Jimmy Carter? I think he is. I have listened to him several times via podcasting and I liked his candid style of communication.

I like the thought, but that this transformation will happen so soon is overly optimistic blue-state ignorance.

[MJB]

The key is... spoken "like" a blogger, which is the same as, spoken "as" a politician. We need to remember he's a politician highly skilled at understanding the audience's frame of reference and is able to build rapport on that context. Nothing against JK... just that he's there to win votes not authenticate himself. Smart move on his part. Blogging created tremendous problems in the last election... he's no dummy, he knows bloggers are a demographic that needs to be addressed and won over.

[Mike Abundo]

MJB: Better a politician who courts bloggers than one who hauls bloggers into court.